Unexpected
by janus-juan
Summary: One night leads to a series of events that causes two individuals to get closer. A Crow/Carly story. Not good at summaries, but I tried my best.
1. Night of Tragedy

**The cast of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's stood in a dark room, unsure of how they got there. In the center of the room stood table and on top that, a small television.**

"**Where are we?" Rua asked. **

**Suddenly, the television sparked to life and a teenaged boy stood inside the small picture box. He had spiky-black hair and extremely dark brown eyes. His skin was tan as he was Hispanic. **

"**Hello, everybody." The teen said. "And welcome to my first ever two-shot. Originally, it was a one-shot, but I added so many things that I had to make it longer. Who knows, it might even become a three-shot." **

"**Who are **_**you**_**?" Aki asked, skeptical. **

"**Why, I'm the author of this here story, Janus-Juan!" Lightning roared in the distance as he said this. "But you can call me JAM." **

**Everyone looked dumbfounded at his comment, but only Carly spoke up. "Um, why JAM?"**

"**Because those are my initials." He told them.**

"**Your initials spell out JAM?" Rua asked. **

"**You got a problem with that?" JAM suddenly screamed.**

"**No, I'm just wondering." Rua put his hands up in surrender. **

"**Well, if you must know, my family has the weird coincidence of having our initials spell out actual words." JAM explained. "My Dad's spell out JEM, my step-dad's JAR, my Mom's VCR and my sister's initials are ERR, or error." **

"**That's just plain creepy." Jack muttered. **

"**Anyway, let's start the show already." JAM said. "So, who wants to do it?"**

"**Do what?" Ruka asked.**

"**The disclaimer, of course." JAM said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.**

**Everyone's eyes widened at this and they all took a step back. That is, except for Yusei.**

"**Great, Yusei, you do it." JAM told him. Yusei just sighed in annoyance before turning to the audience.**

"**Janus-Juan doesn't own anything but the plot of this story." Yusei said.**

"**Perfect. Now, on with the story. But first, any KH fans around here?" JAM said. "If you are, then do I have a story for you? Check my stories and find 'Reconnect. Kingdom Hearts' not 'KH3: Echoes of Tempest'. Trust me, the first one is way better and I'm actually updating that one. Anyway, here you go." **

**Chapter 1: A Night of Tragedy**

Night rose over Neo Domino City as the sun had gone to sleep for the night and the moon had awoken. The stars in the sky seemed to be glowing more than usual as Carly was walking towards the exit of a convenience store, grocery bags in her hands. Her glasses were sliding down the bridge of her nose and she had to use one of her hands to pull them back up. She had to be careful as she didn't want to suddenly trip and fall with her groceries. She already had enough of her tripping spells for the day.

"See you later, Sal!" She looked over her shoulder to see the kind old man waving goodbye. Doing what she could, Carly nodded her head before walking right through the door and into the night cold air.

She navigated her way through the streets to get home. She cursed the fact that her car was in the shop for repairs. As she walked, she heard the revving of a Duel Runner coming from behind her.

"Hey, Carly!" She heard someone yelling from behind her. Turning around, she saw a Sector Security grunt heading her way on his Duel Runner. The guy slowed down to a stop right next to Carly.

Before she could ask who he was, the mystery man maneuvered his hands to his helmet and took it off. Spiky orange hair bounced as it was freed from the confines of the helmet. Seeing the man's face, she saw that he had multiple yellow markers on his cheeks and one on his forehead. Usually a man with markers would scare her a bit as it meant they have been to the Facility, but she recognized this man.

"Hey Crow. What're you doing out here so late?" She asked him.

"I've got the graveyard shift tonight. I'm just doing some rounds around the city for any signs of trouble." He told her. Looking at the bags in her hands, he quickly added something. "Do you need a ride home?" He asked her.

"No, I'm fine." She told him.

"Are you sure? It's not safe for a lady like you to be out this late." He tried convincing her.

That blew up in his face when he saw her smile become a frown and her eyebrows scrunched up behind her glasses. He just pissed her off.

"What, you don't think I can take care of myself?" Ever since Jack disappeared without a trace, Carly has been trying to become more independent.

"I didn't mean it like that." He tried excusing himself.

"You don't think girls are as tough as guys, is that it? Well, what a sexist thing to say. Now if you'll excuse me." She said as she turned on her heel and walked away.

Crow sighed in defeat at the conversation they just had. _Jack really did a number on her._ He thought to himself as he went back to doing his job.

Looking down at her watch, she saw that it was already 8:27 and that her favorite was about to start soon. Speeding up, she walked as fast as she could in her predicament and took a chance. Turning at the corner of the street, she walked into a dark alley.

As she walked, she felt a shiver go down her spine. Turning back, she found no one around. This didn't cause her any comfort, however. Speeding up her pace, Carly suddenly heard footsteps coming from the shadows to her side. As she was only a couple of feet from the lively street in front of her, she heard something click behind her. She froze as she heard a masculine voice say something.

"Turn around, slowly." The man said. Doing as she was told, she saw that the guy was wearing a black ski mask and pitch-black clothing. In his right hand, he held a silver 9mm pistol. The gun was being pointed directly at her head.

Shuddering, Carly finally found her voice to speak. "Please, don't hurt me. I'll give you whatever you want, just don't shoot." Her voice wavered as she reached the end of her plea. To her, just voicing his intention frightened her more than she was.

"Put down the bags." He told her and she slowly followed his instruction.

"Now, give me your money." Her hands shook as she reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out her light brown wallet.

There was a design of a Kuriboh, a Winged Kuriboh and a Kuribon were playing around with one another. It showed just how childish Carly could be. Reaching into the confines of her wallet, she pulled out all that she had; a $20 bill.

The small amount of cash the girl had seemed to have angered the man as he grabbed ahold of the girl's wrist and squeezed tight.

"Please, that's all I have." She begged, voice straining as the man's grip was brutal. Her face showed clear signs of fear and pain.

"Well, then I'll guess you'll have to pay some other way." She could hear him smirk underneath his mask and his grin eyes darkened with a sinful purpose.

Carly gasped as she caught onto his implications. Using her hands, she struggled to get away from her assaulter until she felt the cold metal of his weapon on her cheek.

"You better not make a noise." He warned her before moving his free hand down her body to her waist.

Carly's eyes filled with moisture as she started crying in fear of what was to come. Before the man could do anything, however, she heard someone yell from behind the man.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" A familiar voice rang loudly in the alleyway.

Turning his head around, the robber saw an orange-haired Sector Security member. Seeing his predicament, the man moved himself so that he was holding Carly to his chest and the gun was placed right on her head.

The action went by so quickly that Carly was dumbfounded as to what just happened. Staring straight ahead, she caught the sight of Crow reaching into his holster to pull out his own regulation gun. Pointing it at the robber, Crow glared him down.

"Let the girl go and put the gun down." Crow told him.

"No, you put the gun down! That is unless you want me to shoot this pretty little lady's brains out." The robber threatened.

Seeing he had no alternative, Crow put his hands up in surrender before placing the gun down on the ground. He never let his gaze waver from the man, however.

"Kick it away." The man told him when Crow stood up. Crow did as he was told.

"You don't want to do this." Crow tried reasoning with him as he walked forward as slowly as he dared. "Do you really want someone's blood on your hands?"

The comment made the black-clad robber laugh. Suddenly, he pulled the gun away from Carly's head and then aimed it right at the spiky-haired police officer. Crow stopped moving.

"I have enough blood on my hands that a little more won't keep me awake at night." Before they knew it, the unknown man shot three bullets that hit Crow in multiple places. One hit him in his left shoulder, the other in his chest, and finally the last one hit him on his left side. The force of the impact caused Crow to fall down onto the ground.

Carly screamed into the night before she drove her elbow back, hitting hard on the guy's stomach. The man's grip loosed on Carly's waist and she got free of the man's grip. But, before she could run to Crow's side, the man pulled hard on Carly's waist, making her stumble. It caused her to fall down onto trash bags to the left of the man. She looked up to see the gun being aimed at her.

"You'll pay for that." He promised as his finger moved to the trigger.

Closing her eyes, Carly resigned to her fate. She heard a gunshot ring around her and waited for the pain to come. After a few seconds of no pain, she opened her eyes and was shocked at what she saw.

The black-clad man started sputtering as a bullet was lodged in his chest; right in between two of his ribs on his left side. Blood oozed from his mouth as he coughed for air. He crumpled to the ground in a heap of blood. Horrified, Carly turned to see what happened.

There, on the ground, Crow had managed to grab a hold of his gun and was the one who shot down the perp. Once he did, he dropped down on the ground on uninjured side, his breathing shallow.

"Crow!" She screamed.

Rain began to pour as Carly stood up in and quickly dashed over to Crow's body. Kneeling down before the spiky-haired cop, Carly rolled his body so that he was placed on his back. Blood pooled around Crow's body and his clothes became stained by it; his face was scrunched up in pain.

"Stay with me, Crow!" She yelled at him as she shook his shoulder as gently as she could. Once she did, grey eyes opened suddenly as Crow barely managed to keep himself from yelling out.

"Let me take a look." She told him as she started unbuttoning his green jacket. Getting really frustrated with them, she resorted to ripping the thing right through the buttons.

What she saw below caused her to let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Instead of tan skin underneath the regulation jacket, Crow had worn a black bullet proof vest. The thing took the brunt of the bullet shots, except for the one on his shoulder. Fingering one of the bullet holes, she heard Crow inhale sharply. The force of the attack must've broken a couple of his ribs.

"Sorry!" She apologized.

"Call…call…" He tried to tell her something.

"Huh? Oh!" She whipped out her phone from her pocket and dialed the emergency hotline. The shock of what had happened caused her to forget to call sooner.

"911, what's your emergency?" A female's voice rang from the other side of the conversation.

"Yes! This is Carly Nagisa and I have a man and a policeman who were shot. One's on the ground. The other managed to avoid most of the bullets because of his vest, but one went right through his shoulder and he might have a few broken ribs and—"She started sobbing as she kept on talking. Hearing Carly's despair, the woman interrupted her.

"Ok, Ms. Nagisa, you've got to calm down and listen. We've pinpointed your location and are sending an ambulance right now, but you've got to stop the bleeding on the guy's shoulder. Apply pressure to stop the flow." The woman instructed her.

Carly managed to move Crow's jacket sleeve enough to see the wound. She then ripped off a piece of her shirt and put it in between her palms before pushing down on Crow's shoulder. The police officer screamed as pressure was applied to the wound. She kept herself there for a couple of seconds before taking one of her hands off to grab ahold of the jacket. Holding it up to her mouth, Carly used her teeth to rip off the right sleeve before letting the rest fall to the cool concrete. She never stopped applying pressure as she did this.

Her shirt piece was now soaked through by Crow's blood and she pulled it off his shoulder. She then wrapped the sleeve around the bleeding shoulder. The sleeve was a lot thicker than the shirt and so didn't bleed through as fast.

"Come on, Crow. Just hang on a little longer." Carly pleaded. He had lost a lot of blood and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep his eyes opened.

"I'm fine. I just need a little shut-eye." He said as his eyes drooped.

"No! Keep your eyes opened." Tears were flowing down her face freely.

Suddenly, she heard the sirens of an ambulance getting closer. Her face broke into a smile as hope filled her body. Looking down, all her hope vanished as she saw Crow's eyes had closed and his chest was rising so slowly it almost didn't look like he was breathing at all.

Grabbing ahold of Crow's hand, Carly brought it up and shook it. Crow didn't move a muscle nor open his eyes. Sobs racked her body as she brought his right hand up to her cheek and closed her own eyes. She apologized over and over again while holding his calloused hand on her soft glistening cheek.

Things happened like a blur after that. She barely felt someone put their hand on her shoulder before she was hauled to her feet. She dropped his hand in the process. She vaguely remembered seeing Crow's body being placed on a gurney and put inside the ambulance and her mind was foggy about how she managed to enter along with him.

Riding in the back of the ambulance, she felt hollow. She felt guilty about what had passed tonight.

_If I hadn't taken that shortcut, none of this would've happened. No he's—No! If he _was_ dead, then they would've placed him inside a body bag and wouldn't be rushing to the hospital so quickly. _Carly thought to herself as they rode through the crying skies.

"**Bwahahaha!" JAM laughed evilly at his creation.**

"**What the heck was that? How could you end it in a cliffhanger?" Jack ranted. Deep down, he cared about his best friend and is worried for his health. **

"**Yeah. Does Crow manage to live?" Ruka asked, nervously. **

"**Hmm, interesting question. Is Carly right about him still being alive, or is he too far gone?" JAM said, cryptically. **

"**You're evil!" Aki told him.**

"**You bet I am." JAM smirked. "So, my dear readers, what did you think of my first ever two-shot/three-shot? Liked it? Hated it? Want to kill me for leaving you with a cliffhanger? Please, tell me your thoughts. I'll try to get the next part up soon." **

"**You better!" Carly screamed. "I'm an emotional wreck right now." **

"**Keep your pants on." JAM said. "Well, until next time." **

**Suddenly the screen went black. **


	2. Glimpse of Hope

"**Disclaimer is I don't own the characters and stuff." JAM said.**

"**No intro this time?" Rua asked.**

"**That would lead to more writing. Anyway, here's chapter two." JAM said as he pressed the button on the controller. **

**Chapter 2: Glimpse of Hope**

The red and white flashes of the ambulance illuminated the streets as the vehicle drove straight through Downtown Neo Domino towards the hospital. Because of all the falling water on the road, the ambulance couldn't accelerate to its full potential in case of danger. The constant pitter-patter of the rain was unnerving the girl with the trifocals. She was holding on to Crow's right hand to give herself assurance, being cautious all the while; she tried to not put too much pressure on the appendage.

Once they had brought him inside the ambulance, the paramedics quickly set to work and hooked him up to a portable electrocardiogram machine to measure the rhythm of his heartbeat. To Carly, the constant beeps of the machine put her mind at ease, but also frightened her because it could stop at any moment; she could swear the beeping was going a bit too slow to be normal.

Stopping at the loop outside the hospital, the paramedics quickly unfastened Crow from his makeshift bed and placed him gently onto a gurney the hospital personnel brought out. Pushing on the gurney, the paramedics crashed right through the door, Carly in tow.

"What's the situation?" A girl with brunette hair in a ponytail and lunar glasses asked. Based on her appearance and her hospital badge, she must've been a doctor.

"He's got a gun-shot wound in his left shoulder, blood loss, and a broken rib or two." One of the men told her. Assessing the situation, the doctor ushered them with her hand.

"Get him to the operating room, stat!" She instructed. The paramedics nodded before moving past the woman and past a set of double doors.

The doctor was about to follow after them when she felt someone tap her back. Turning around, she came face to face with a young woman in clashing clothing. The girl seemed so small as tears fell from behind her trifocals and down her face.

"Yes, may I help you?" The doctor felt compelled to ask.

"My friend—the guy that was just brought in—is he going to be ok?" Carly asked, voice sounding delicate and scared.

The doctor gave the young adult a sad smile before responding. "We'll try our best." She told her.

All Carly could do was mutter a 'thank you' before walking over to the waiting area and sat down on a seat; all movements looking robotically. She closed her hands together and placed them on her lap. The doctor felt sympathy for the girl; but she had a job to do. Composing herself, the brunette followed after her newest patient.

Moments after sitting down, Carly managed to break through her guilt-ridden mood to pull out her cell phone and call the others. After all, they had a right to know what was going on. Her first choice was Jack, but since he wasn't anywhere to be found, she dialed Yusei.

**/**

Yusei was working diligently on his new computer program, the Fortune, trying to make it as efficient as it can be. He was getting into the main interface of the program when his phone started to ring. At first he chose to ignore it, but after a while the incessant ringing of his cell got to him. Sitting back in his seat, Yusei reached for his phone on the table. Placing it to his ear, Yusei answered.

"Hello, Yusei Fudo here." He said through the mouthpiece.

"Yusei?" He heard a broken voice on the other side of the conversation. He swore that voice sounded vaguely familiar. A light bulb flashed inside his head as he remembered.

"Carly? Are you ok?" He asked her when he heard her sniffle on the other line.

"It's Crow, he—"That's all she managed to say before she broke into another round of hysterics. Yusei suddenly got nervous.

"What happened to Crow?" Yusei was worried now. He was usually a stoic person but when it came to his friends, he couldn't help but worry.

"H-He's been shot and is in b-bad shape." She told the Signer.

"What?" Yusei slammed his free hand on the table in front of him and stood up, all work forgotten. "Where are you right now?"

"We're at the hospital. They've taken him into the Operating Room." Carly explained.

"I'll be right there. Can you contact the others and let them know?" Yusei was walking to the exit now, closing his lab coat tightly against his light blue dress shirt and grabbing the set of keys that was placed on a table near the door.

"I'm on it. Just, be careful. One of you guys in the hospital is more than enough." Carly told him.

"Don't worry, I will." He told her before hanging up the phone and heading towards the parking lot of the building.

When Carly heard the dial tone, she moved the tiny device from her ear to the front of her face. Looking through her contacts, Carly quickly dialed Aki's number.

**/**

Aki and her mother were in the kitchen baking a cake for dessert when the teenager heard a distinct sound coming from the living room. Walking towards the noise she heard the song "Soul Sister" playing.

_Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo  
>The way you move ain't fair you know<br>Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight—_

The tune ended as Aki picked up her rose themed cell phone from the coffee table and answered it. She was happy to see who it was.

"Carly! How are you?" Aki eagerly said. Ever since they had met at that coffee shop right after the Dark Signer fiasco, both girls have become the closest of friends. Her happy smile faded as she heard the news, however.

"Oh my god. I'll be right there." Aki said and then pressed the end call button. Setsuko Izayoi came in carrying a bowl full of batter as Aki was frantically searching for her duel runner keys.

"What's wrong, my little rose?" Setsuko asked her daughter as she saw the desperate way Aki moving around the room.

"Mom, my friend's in the hospital and I have to get over there." Aki turned around when she heard her mother gasp. "I have to get there right away but I can't find my keys. Have you seen them?" Aki pleaded.

"They should be on the table by the door." Setsuko said. Sure enough, the keys were right where the older woman said they were. "Don't forget to take a jacket." Even at a time like this, Setsuko still worried about her daughter's health and well-being.

Following her mother's advice, Aki grabbed her light pink jacket by the door and the keys before rushing out the door. She didn't waste any time on putting her riding suit and so was on her duel runner in no time. She was ready to depart when her father opened the garage door to park his car in after a long day at the office.

"Aki, where are you going so late at night?" Hideo asked her but received no response as Aki revved up the engine and sped out of sight. She narrowly missed hitting her father's mode of transportation as she rode right out of the garage.

Hideo was baffled by his daughter's actions but decided to give her some space. Perhaps his wife would tell him what was going on.

**/**

Rua and Ruka were walking in to their apartment in the Tops, the higher class section of the city. They had just paid for the takeout they ordered from their favorite Chinese restaurant and were bringing the food inside. Ruka was able to wait long enough to make it to the table, but her brother had already eaten half of an eggroll.

"Rua! We have to say grace before we eat!" Ruka reprimanded him for eating his food prematurely.

"Sorry Ruka, but I'm really hungry." As if to emphasize his point, his stomach started growling. This caused him to smile sheepishly.

"That doesn't mean you have to scarf it down. And don't talk with your mouth full!" Ruka glared at him, causing the other to quickly gulp down the confines of his mouth.

"Sorry." He told her, head bowed down in apology. Ruka sighed before smiling reassuringly at him.

"It's ok. Now, help me get the table ready." She told him as she grabbed a hold of the dinner plates. He followed her example and obliged.

Only when all the silverware and plates were put on the tablecloth did Rua and Ruka sit down to eat. Like Ruka said before, they both said their thanks to God for another day of life and for the wonderful food. They even made a small prayer to the Crimson Dragon for everything it's done for the Signers. Ridding themselves of their prayer positions, each of the twins grabbed a hold of their silverware.

Just as they were about to chow down on the delicious smelling food, or in Rua's case, pig out, they heard the home phone ringing in the kitchen.

"Hold up a sec." Ruka said as she stood up and went over to the blaring sound of the phone. It was so loud that she barely heard her brother's exasperated sigh. Ruka giggled at her brother's dramatic antics. Grabbing the phone, she pressed the 'talk' button and put the electronic to her ear.

"Sagara residence, Ruka speaking." Ruka greeted the person on the other line.

Rua was getting very impatient; he hasn't eaten since he had those cookies 2 hours ago. Looking at his sister, he saw that she was really engrossed by the phone conversation and wasn't paying attention to anything else. So he risked it all by moving his chopsticks to his discarded egg roll on his plate and moved it up to his mouth. He was about to take a bite when he heard something.

"What?" He heard Ruka yell out, voice gone ragged. The action surprised him so much that he dropped the piece of food on the floor.

Rua quickly sprang from his seat and went over to Ruka's side. He could see tears overlaying her golden orbs as she kept talking on the phone. "We'll be right there." She promised as she hung up the phone.

"Ruka! What happened? Who was that on the phone?" Rua screamed for an answer.

Instead of answering him outright, Ruka walked over to their hallway closet and took out a two sets of sweaters and umbrellas before putting throwing one at her brother. Rua deftly caught it as he looked at her in confusion.

"Ruka?" Rua asked, voice a bit scared.

"No time to explain, right now, Rua. We need to get to the hospital as fast as possible." She told him before grabbing her Duel Board from right beside the front door.

Rua hurriedly put on the sweater and yanked his own board off the wall as fast as he could. "Ruka, wait up!" He yelled after her but she was already out the door. Though still confused on what was going on, Rua ran out the door in a flash to catch up with his sister. He wasn't about to let her face what was to come alone.

**/**

Carly was slumped over in the uncomfortable sitting area when the gang arrived. She'd been waiting for 20 minutes without any news and was now feeling helpless just sitting there. Aki was the first to approach the depressed girl.

"Carly, are you okay?" Aki took a hold of Carly's hands as she talked. The girl with the glasses looked directly at Aki's worried face yet the magenta haired female couldn't tell how she was feeling through the trifocals. The only response she got was a small nod and some sniffling.

"I'm fine, but Crow isn't." Her voice was a bit hoarse as she spoke.

"What happened?" Ruka asked soothingly. She saw Carly as a sort of older sister to her, just like Aki was. She hated seeing the ebony-haired girl like this and didn't want to make it worse.

She cleared her throat before continuing. "It's all my fault." She said as she sat back in her chair. "I'm the reason he's in there."

"What do you mean?" Aki asked.

Carly took off her glasses and put them in her lap as she cleared away the tears from her eyes and cheeks. Everyone breathed in sharply at seeing the red-rimmed eyes she sported, but the view was obstructed as she put her glasses back on.

She then proceeded to telling them all what had happened. Her voice broke as she reached the end of her tale, wrapping her arms around herself protectively.

"I shouldn't have let my anger get to me when he asked to take me home. Maybe if I'd gone with him, then none of this would've happened." She said.

She felt two small bodies collide into her body, two tiny pairs of arms wrapping themselves around her waist. She moved her gaze up a bit to see both Rua and Ruka hugging her tightly. She could also feel a pair of blue eyes staring at her.

"There's no point in beating yourself up, Carly. What's done is done and there's no point in living in the past." Yusei told her, trying to get her to get rid of her guilt.

"Yusei's right." Aki added. "We have to stop thinking in the past and look to the future." Aki of all people knew that it wasn't healthy to live in the past and that it was best to forgive and forget.

Carly removed her limp arms from their spots and moved them to return the hug the twins were giving her. She then looked up at Aki and Yusei and produced a grateful smile as a means to say thanks for the work her friends were doing to make her happy again.

"Thank you. You guys are true friends." She said. The comment caused Rua and Ruka to look up at Carly's face. Seeing her smiling face, they gave her a heartwarming smile in return. They were glad their sister figure had calmed down.

Just as the others sat down next to the no longer crying girl, the doctor that had admitted Crow walked into the waiting area. Seeing her, the party of 4 (excluding Carly) stood up from their seats and started barraging the doctor with questions about their friend's condition.

"Hold on a minute." The doctor told them and they immediately quieted down. She held a small frown as she told them the news. "There's a problem."

And that was all they needed to hear before they nearly lost it.

"What's the matter doctor?" Aki asked, always the level-headed one of the group. Well, as of recently, anyway.

"We can't begin the operation because we don't have enough blood to conduct it." Dr. Akita told them outright. "You see, Mr. Hogan has a rare blood type."

"What's his blood type?" Yusei asked.

"He has O- blood." She told them.

"What's so special about that?" Rua asked, confused. "Can't you just use someone else's blood?"

"Rua! Don't you pay attention in Health Class?" His sister berated her brother. She sighed as she explained. "The blood used during a blood transfusion must work with your blood type. If it doesn't, your antibodies in your blood attack the new blood and make you sick." She had recently learned that subject in school. Why they needed to learn that at a Dueling School is beyond her.

Dr. Akita nodded her head. "That's correct. And Mr. Hogan's body can only take in a specific type of blood: O-." She looked over her patient's friends. "May I ask what blood types you guys are?"

"AB+." Yusei muttered.

"B-." Aki said.

"Uh…" Rua had no idea what blood type he had and Ruka sighed at his obliviousness.

"We're both A+." She told the doctor.

Everyone then turned their attention to Carly, silently hoping that she had the elusive and rare blood type as she would be their only hope to save Crow's life.

Carly, who had been sitting in her spot until now, gulped at the situation, but shook away her fear and stood up from her seat. "I'm O-." Carly told the doctor as she walked over to her.

Everyone smiled and gave a small cheer at seeing a glimpse of hope shine down upon them. The twins hugged each other in joy and Yusei chuckled a bit, as he barely showed much emotion. Aki, on the other hand, grimaced a bit before giving Carly a small smile and a thumbs up. She knew her friend was afraid of needles and so this would be an interesting experience for the black-haired girl.

Carly saw Aki's silent good luck and gave her a sad smile before she composed herself and followed the nurse Dr. Akita had called over. She held her head up high as she walked into an empty hospital room the nurse had taken her to. At the sight of the needle, the reporter got a bit queasy as her mind thought ahead to her 'doom'. That was all her friends saw before the door to the room closed shut.

**/**

A few agonizing hours later, Crow's operation was finally over and he was placed in one of the hospital rooms. Once he was deemed ready for visitors, his friends barged inside the room without a preamble. Thanks to the head nurse, they were able to exceed the visitor limit of 3 people and the party of five was standing over Crow's unconscious body, waiting for him to wake up. He was bandaged up at his midsection, where his broken ribs were put back into place, and a gauze was placed upon his wounded shoulder.

After a while of no response, the twins were starting to become drowsy, one to the point of yawning and the other was trying their hardest to keep her eyes open. Yusei caught sight of their sleepiness and removed himself from his position on the wall. Checking the clock on the wall, he saw that it was way passed their usual hour of sleep.

Moving over to the two 12-year-olds and crouched in front of them to get their attention. Their eyelids drooped without their consent as they tried to stare at their older brother figure.

"Let me take you guys home." Yusei whispered as he hoisted Ruka up to lay down on his chest, using his left hand to place her head on his shoulder, being as gentle as possible so she wouldn't wake up. Rua stood up from his seat and grabbed a hold of Yusei's right hand; using the hand that wasn't in Yusei's grip to rub his eyes with.

"But I'm not even tired." He whined before letting a loud yawn escape the confines of his mouth. He didn't protest further as he was led towards the doorway by Yusei. Aki stood up as well and went over to open the door for Yusei.

"I'll walk you out." She told him. He gave her a smile and nodded his thanks before walking out the door with the twins in tow.

Aki was about to follow when she turned around to look at her friend. "Would you like me to get you some coffee or something?" As she said this she shifted her eyesight to Yusei's back, wanting nothing more than to follow him out.

"Can you get me a Cappuccino?" Carly asked.

"One Cappuccino, coming right up!" Aki exclaimed before following after Yusei.

Carly giggled at her friend's antics. It was so obvious that she liked Yusei more than a friend, but it is hard for her to relay those feelings. Carly hoped she would tell him soon before it was too late. Aki had told her that she was looking into applying for medical college overseas in Germany. Of course, Aki made her promise not to say anything to anybody, which was hard to do because of how big the scoop was.

She was broken out of her reverie when she heard groan coming from behind her. She turned around to see Crow's eyes trying to open; the glare of the room's light was making it hard to open them completely. He tried to sit up but he groaned in pain as he moved his body; still being sore from the pain he had been dealt with.

"Careful." Carly told him, going over to his bedside. She tried steadying him as gently as she could and when he was seemed comfortable lying down on the bed, she let go of her grip on him.

"Whe—"Crow tried speaking but his throat had turned dry after so long of not drinking any fluids.

Seeing his dilemma, Carly went over to one of the pantries and took out a paper cup. She then left the room for a bit. Crow cocked his head in confusion at her departure but understood when he saw her return with a full cup.

"Here. Drink this." Carly said as she moved the cup up to his mouth. Because he had been given so much pain medication, he felt so disoriented that it was hard for him to grab a hold of the cup and so Carly took it upon herself to do it for him.

Opening his mouth, he took a sip of the clear liquid. He felt his throat instantly replenish and his vocal chords as well. Feeling daring, he took more and more of the water into his mouth and regretted it instantly as he started to choke and cough on how much he took in.

"Not so fast." Carly chastised as she moved the cup away from his mouth. When his coughing fit had died down she moved the cup back to where it was and let him drain the rest of the water. Once he was done, she placed the empty cup on the bedside table.

"Thanks." Crow said, giving her a grateful smile, which Carly reciprocated.

**With Yusei and Aki:**

"Do you need any help taking them home?" Aki asked as they made their way through the parking lot.

"No, I can handle it." Yusei told her.

"But, how are you going to fit three people on your D-Wheel?" Aki asked, confused.

"Who said I came on my D-Wheel?" Yusei smirked as he kept on walking.

"If you didn't come on your D-Wheel, then how did you get here?"

"I borrowed this from the garage." They were now in front of a nice black and white Chevrolet Volt car. It was considered one of the best cars of the year as it was an economic friendly electric car. It could go 40 miles on a single charge of the battery and not use a drop of gasoline.

"Whoa." Aki said in awe as she admired the car.

Seeing Yusei having trouble reaching for his keys, Aki moved over to his side.

"Need some help?" Aki offered, giving him a wry smile. He usually liked to do things on his own, but he couldn't weasel himself out of this one.

Yusei gave off a defeated sigh before he nodded his head a bit. Moving his body, he detached Ruka's sleeping body from his torso and handed the little girl over to the red-haired maiden. Carefully, Aki took Ruka from Yusei's grip and held her in an embrace.

Seeing that Aki had a good hold on Ruka, Yusei reached into his pocket and took out his keys. Pressing the button on the keychain, the doors to the car instantly unlocked themselves. Opening the door, he told Rua to get inside. The little teen rubbed his eyes as he entered the motor vehicle.

Knowing Rua was half asleep; Yusei entered the car right next to Rua and pulled on the seat belt right beside his head, buckling it up around Rua's semi-conscious form. Safety first…

He then exited the car and did the same thing with Ruka, being careful not to wake her up. As he buckled her seatbelt, Yusei noticed that she had drooped her head onto her chest. Looking in the storage compartment of the car, the blue-eyed man took out a small pillow and placed it underneath her neck. That way, she wouldn't feel sore when she woke up. Once he made sure they were safe, Yusei left the confines of the car once more.

Turning to his magenta-haired companion, he caught a glimpse of tenderness on her face as she looked at the twins and he couldn't help but smile at the sight. Just as they viewed her as an older sister, she protects and cares for them as such; she helps them against bullies, listens to their problems, and they hang out during their times off. She had grown close to them in the time they've known each other.

Sensing his gaze on her, Aki turned her sights on Yusei. Staring into his eyes, she got lost in the endless pools of blue and Yusei couldn't help but compare her eyes with two precious gems. **(1) **They held each other's gaze for a moment before turning away bashfully, both flustered a bit (well, Aki a bit more than Yusei).

"So, I'll see you when you get back?" Aki asked him, having found the streetlight really captivating.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Yusei assured her. "Now I better go before it gets even later." He reluctantly said as he stepped inside the car.

"Yeah." She said. When she heard him start the car, she turned her sights on the back window of the car. She gave him a small wave as he backed up and left the hospital parking lot. Once he was gone, she shook herself from her thoughts and turned towards the double-doors of the hospital.

"Now, where is that coffee machine?" She asked herself as she entered the establishment.

**I can't believe I wrote that. *Facepalm* That's what I get for listening to the Price of Freedom while writing this. I swear it makes me all mushy. Could be because it played during Zack's last stand in Crisis Core and he never got to get back together with Aerith until she died later on. To those of you who haven't heard it, look it up on youtube. It's a really awesome song. **

"**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. I think the next chapter will be the last chapter and then an epilogue." JAM said, thinking about the decision. **

"**That's it?" Ruka asked. **

"**Well, I have to go and write the chapters for my other stories, so, yeah. Review please!" JAM said as the screen turned dark.**


End file.
